Woman Indicted At 16-Years-Old For A Crime She Didn’t Commit Was Freed After 26 Years

LaQuanda “Faye” Jacobs has been freed after being arrested and convicted of a crime that she didn’t commit. She was incarcerated for 26 years.

On February 9, 1992, authorities in Little Rock, Arkansas, were looking into a case involving an aggravated robbery and a shooting.

Witnesses told police that the suspect was a woman, close to thirty years old. She had scars below her eyes and wearing black pants and a black coat.

About an hour later, police apprehended and questioned 16-year-old Faye Jacobs. This was while she wore the same white dress she had on at church earlier that day.

The Midwest Innocence Project, designed to assist people who have been wrongfully convicted, stated that 5 other witnesses had said that Faye wasn’t the perpetrator.

But, the jury never had the opportunity to hear from them because her defense lawyers never looked into the crime or questioned the witnesses.

After two state witnesses testified, the 16-year-old was found guilty of capital murder and given life in prison without parole.

After the innocence project got involved, and her story was told in “The Nation,” Faye was resentenced in 2018. She had been released but not exonerated.

As a result of her not being imprisoned anymore, Faye isn’t permitted to challenge her conviction. She can only request a pardon from the Governor of Arkansas. Additionally, she wasn’t provided with any compensation or resources to keep her life back on track. She is now working to clear her name.

The innocence project has started a GoFundMe campaign to assist Faye with her daily necessities.